Berne-Knox-Westerlo students now using statistics to analyze sports

BERNE, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- Nine students at the Berne-Knox-Westerlo (BKW) Secondary School and two students from Maple Hill Jr./Sr. High School are using statistics in a different way. In a distance learning class between the districts, these students are learning how math makes an impact on today's professional sports in a new sports analytics class.

According to the BKW district, the class is geared towards the exploration of sports analytics and the role that plays in a player or team for professional and non-professional sports. Through normal statistic methods, strategies and calculations, the course showcases how teams and players are evaluated throughout their career or how they are predicted to play in a season.

Statistics can be in everything we do on a daily basis, from shopping to searching online. This class is teaching students to use statistics in untraditional ways, like athletics.

"The interesting thing with statistics is that it plays a role in many industries and definitely within the world of sports," BKW Secondary School math teacher Mr. Morin said. "Our main priority is allowing students to understand the basic principle of statistics, but adding the athletic component allows them to experience its impact in something they are interested in. It’s been great reviewing different scenarios in how statistics plays a role in sports-related decisions."